With thoughts turning away from Christmas it’s time to think about what you’ll do with your Christmas tree.

Well Veolia, the waste contractor for Shropshire Council, is calling on people to ‘tree-cycle’ and raise money for Hope House Children’s Hospices.

For every tree recycled, the company will make a donation to the charity.

Angela James, communications officer for Veolia, explains: “During the first few weeks of January, residents can recycle their real Christmas trees by simply putting them out for collection next to their garden waste bin. And as a way of thanking residents for recycling their real tree, Veolia will make a donation to Hope House Children’s Hospice.

“If their tree is over five feet tall, they just need to cut it into sections to fit into the garden waste bin. All real Christmas trees collected will be recycled and turned into valuable soil improver for local farmers and gardeners.”

Last year, over 4,000 real trees were recycled by Shropshire residents both at the kerbside and at one of the five household recycling centres in Shropshire – Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Craven Arms, Whitchurch and Bridgnorth.

Lynsey Kilvert, area fundraiser for Hope House, said: “Everyone at Hope House is delighted that Veolia will be making a donation to help us continue the vital support we provide to seriously ill children and their families and to families and children in the community who have suffered the sudden death of a child or someone close to them in traumatic circumstances.

“Every week, three local families face unimaginable heartbreak when their child dies and tragically Hope House can currently only afford to help one. Hope House cannot stop children dying but with the help of our amazing community we can stop families suffering on their own. So please recycle your Christmas Trees – we will definitely be recycling ours. Thank you Veolia.”